Family of girl killed in bus crash accuse driver

THE family of a schoolgirl who died in a school bus crash have accused the coach driver of causing the accident and trying to mislead police.

Relatives of Natasha Paton, 17, have urged a sheriff to find that the standard of Raymond Munro’s driving was the most likely cause of the tragedy.

They said he was travelling too fast for the wintry conditions when the bus collided with a bridge on the A73 near Biggar and tumbled down an embankment into a river.

The family also told a fatal accident inquiry into the death that Mr Munro, 63, had made false statements to police in a bid to deflect the blame.

Natasha’s parents Gordon and Jacqui were left devastated when she died on a trip taking 39 pupils and staff from Lanark Grammar School to Alton Towers theme park in March 2010.

In a written final submission to the inquiry, the family’s solicitor David Wilson said: “The cause of the accident is clearly down to the failure of Raymond Munro to take reasonable precautions on the approach to the bend at Wiston Bridge.

“As he was travelling too fast when he approached the bend, Raymond Munro required to apply his brakes shortly before the bend.

“The speed of the vehicle and the application of brakes in snowy and slushy conditions was the cause of a loss of traction as he was negotiating the bend, causing the vehicle to career head-on into the parapet of Wiston Bridge and thereafter fall into the Garf Water.”

The family also asked Sheriff Nikola Stewart to disregard statements made by Mr Munro in a police interview in which he said there was black ice on the road and that he had warned teachers not to go ahead with the trip. Mr Wilson added: “From the uncontested testimony of the adult helpers and teachers, it is clear that this warning was never given.”

Mr Munro’s legal team also asked the sheriff to disregard his police interview but said he did not accept responsibility for the accident.

His lawyer Barry Smith said: “It is accepted by Mr Munro that a reasonable precaution whereby the death might have been avoided was to travel at a lower speed at the accident locus.

“That is not accompanied by a concession that he should have travelled at a lower speed.”

The Crown Office, which conducted the inquiry, asked the sheriff to find that the accident could have been avoided if Natasha had worn a seatbelt and Mr Munro had slowed down at the bend before the bridge.

Mr Munro, from Bothwell, Lanarkshire, did not give evidence to the inquiry due to ill- health.

The inquiry has now closed after the submissions were lodged with Lanark Sheriff Court and Sheriff Stewart has retired to consider her determination.